Wednesday, 12 June 2013

West Highland Way

Milngavie
to Fort William

Wed
13th to Saturday 16th June 2012 - 4days

95
miles (152 kms)

Introduction

Most people have heard of the West Highland Way
(“WHW”) and wish to give it a go.It was
the same for me and in issuing invitations to a few walkers I knew, Paul Hodges
and Neil Maxwell accepted the challenge and for both of them it was their first
long distance route.It was left to me
to make the necessary arrangements and come up with a walking plan and my
original 3 day walk was extended to 4 days and this was a good decision as the
route in parts was much harder than I thought it would be.

A good friend, now living in Cardrona, Big Brown,
had done the route with two friends in May 2006 and he kindly copied me in on
his recommendations which proved to be ever so helpful.

It is essential you have the right kit and that you
are geared up for adverse weather conditions and the ubiquitous midge.On the whole we were very lucky with the
weather and midges only bothered us on the last day from Kinlochleven to Fort
William and in some forestry sections these cruel small devils just swarmed
around us.

This proved to be a walk of great quality and
distinction that we all felt passes through a landscape second to none.There are many changes of character along the
way as the path moves through different geological zones, from somewhat flat
lowland Scotland to the heights and lonely places of the Scottish
Highlands.Paul wishes to re-visit and
rather than walk, perhaps run the length – I wish him the very best.

Planning the walk

We gained a number of quotes from different holiday
companies to arrange accommodation and carry our kit bags on a daily basis to
our accommodation.We chose Easyways and
their service as experienced by Big Brown was just excellent.Pleasant and knowledgeable staff gave us a
good deal and excellent service.All our
accommodation proved first class.The
daily carrying services by Travel Light was spot on.

We wished to walk from Milngavie to Fort William
and then get the train back from Fort William on such a scenic route back to
Milngavie where we would leave our car.We had agreed on four days to do the route so now it was to see what
accommodation Easyways came up with to tie into our daily intended walking
distances.

Decisions were soon taken and we confirmed
bookings:

·Leave
Wales and Chester on Tuesday 12th June and travel up to Milngavie to
stay o/night in the Premier Inn where we arranged to leave our car for the few
days.

·Day
One – Milngavie to Rowardennan – staying o/night in the Rowardennan Hotel

·Day
Two – Rowardennan to Tyndrum – staying at By The WayBunk House

·Day
Three – Tyndrum to Kinlochleven – staying at the Highland Getaway

·Day
Four – Kinlochleven to Fort William – staying at Fassfern Guest House.

·Leave
Fort William on Sunday 17th June and travel to Milngavie by train,
picking up our car, and then travelling home.

The Route

We were armed with a Harvey WHW map XT40 which was
ever so useful as it covered the whole route rather than having numerous OS maps
to carry.The disadvantage of such a map
is that you are unable to identify prominent land marks further afield and the fine
cameos of distant hills peering above the trees. The route is also well way
marked.

Day One - Milngavie to Rowardennan – 26 miles
( 41.5kms)

A lovely flat introduction to the walk at 7.50am and
soon you are enjoying the fertile, pastoral landscapes through which the Way
threads a route.We see the knobbly
upthrust of Dumgoyne, the furthest west point of the Campsie Hills.On the very far horizon some glimpses of the
blue Crianlarich Hills and we were looking forward to our first sighting of
Loch Lomand and Ben Lomand, the most southerly of the Munros.We saw roe deer ahead of us on the path.

Once out of the forests your immediate focus is on
the hogsback of Conic Hill.Conic Hill
lies along the Highland Boundary Fault (runs for 260km (160 miles)), a great
geological divide between lowland Scotland and the Highlands.Neil had been on top a couple of years before
so getting to the top was our target and as the path rises Ben Lomand974m (3,195ft) and more distant mountains
come into view.Tomorrow we will be
passing some of these sprang into the thought process.We
reached the top at 2.15pm.At the small
village of Balmaha, on the shores of Loch Lomand, we stopped for carry out
drinks and rather than rest we were pushing on as we had still some way to go
(12km) to get to our overnight accommodation.Here we are entering the Buchanan and Garadhban Forests with their
mature conifers and the going gets more demanding with many ups and downs, many
of which are very steep.Here we came
across a young couple from Germany carrying 19kgs each on their backs and ever
so tired.I would recommend that walkers
should hire a carrying company for excess kit etc and not carry all their
belongings on their backs.Very
difficult territory lies ahead as you wind your way on the shores of Loch
Lomand as we were soon to find out!

We were fascinated by the Loch Islands (23 named
islands) and there is evidence that man inhabitated these islands as long ago
as 5,000BC.Food for imaginative
thought!Loch Lomand, formerly known as
Loch Leven, is 30kms long (18.5miles).

At 6.30pm we arrive at our hotel somewhat knackered
after a long and demanding day.It is
down to the bar for a well earned couple of pints and a meal before hitting the
sack.

Day Two - Rowardennan to Tyndrum – 27.25
miles (43.75kms)

From reading guide books on the WHW we knew this
was a difficult section of the walk but it is a lot harder than described.It was like tackling an assault course – how
bikers can think of taking their bikes along the shores of the loch, I do not
know?We were up for breakfast at 7am
and at 8am we were on our way high above the loch on the first hour or so and
then dropping down to the tree lined shore line.

Early in the morning we were caught up by a cyclist
carrying all his own gear on a very sophisticated mountain bike and wearing clip
in bike shoes.By the time we got to
Inversnaid Hotel we could see he was struggling – how he got that far was a
marvel to us!He was advised by the
hotel staff that the next section of the loch was far worse than what he had
tackled – they were totally correct.We
never saw the cyclist again and our guess was that he took the ferry from the
hotel to the other side of the loch and back to good roads.

We took a female red deer by surprise and being on
a downward slope she cleared a high fence and vanished so quickly amongst the
trees.We also marvelled at the number of
dragon flies we had seen and their various colours.Wild goats were also seen and at a bridge we
came across two male goats a few feet higher than us on a steep slope lying
down and having a rest.It was an ideal
time to take a photo.

We were so glad to arrive at Beinglas Farm Campsite
and have a break and a drink and we enjoyed a chat with the lady owner and her
helpful staff.Beinglas Farm offers a
whole range of facilities - B&B, camping, 4 wigwams, bar, restaurant and
shop.This would have been an ideal
place for us to stop in reflection but we were going to Tyndrum – yet a long
way away!!The Drovers Inn which has
been offering hospitality for over 300 years is a short walk away.

Our break refreshed us and on we went on a good
track and at 7.15pm we at last pulled in at “By The Way” hostel and campsite.Neil’s first introduction to a bunkhouse and
we had the luxury of our own room (four bunks)!We shopped at “The Green Welly Stop” and Paul cooked a wonderful pasta
meal.We enjoyed the good facilities of
the place and the courteous and helpful attention of the proprietors.

We could of course have stopped off and stayed
somewhere in Crainlarich but this is some two miles off the WHW and you would
have had to walk the same distance again in the morning.This was the hardest day and most difficult
of the walk.

Day Three – Tyndrum to Kinlochleven – 27.75
miles (44.25kms)

After leaving our kit bags for our carrier we had
an early breakfast at the Green Wellie and at 8am we were on our way once again
on a cloudy and cold morning after having had two good previous walking
days.As we headed for Bridge of Orchy
we had to put on our waterproofs as there were showers of heavy rain but by
11am these ended and we enjoyed our walking over a long section of military
road. These roads were built to help in the control of Jacobite clansman.

At the edge of a forest plantation at noon we had a
brief stop for lunch.There were many
more walkers now, some going in our direction but others going the opposite
way. It was nice to acknowledge people
and find out where they hailed from and how they were finding their
challenge.All were of the same opinion
that this was a unique walk.Rannoch
Moor was all around us and slipped away into endless blue oblivion and low
cloud prevented the tops of high mountains being seen.On the eastern horizon we saw lochs and many
lochans.What a tremendous and
invigorating sense of openness and freedom.Redcoats marching could be heard if you thought about it.A good part of the WHW follows ancient
droving routes which took livestock from the north to the southern markets.

We had an enjoyable coffee stop at the oasis that
is the King’s House Hotel at 2.30pm.We
took the old route following the banks of the River Coupall, looking up to the
great “sentinel of Glencoe”, Buchaille Etive Mor, black in colour and ever so
intimidating and shrouded in cloud.Again the sound of running water accompanied us as it did so often along
the route.Freedom.Here we came across a fox feeding on a dead
deer and he/she was reluctant to leave its quarry but did as we got ever
nearer.Alas we did not record the
occasion on camera!

Next we were tackling the Devil’s Staircase rising
in long loops above us.The path here is
good and you just have to get on with the climb which is not at all
difficult.It took us 38 minutes to get
to the top.At the top we met cyclists
who were somewhat tired coming up from Kinlochleven and they were on their way
to Tyndrum – we did not have the heart to tell them that we did not think they
would make it!!Looking ahead we could
see the long Blackwater Reservoir, Carn Mor Dearg, Ben Nevis and other
mountains in the Mamores but the cloud made it difficult to recognise individual
mountains.For us it was a long and steep
decent into Kinlochleven and our accommodation was some 300yards away from the
WHW.Highland Gateway (Guesthouse and
Restaurant) was excellent.Good
accommodation, beer, food and friendly staff despite one of us locking himself
out of his room and roaming the corridors with only a towel round him looking
for someone to rescue the situation.The
owner had the necessary key to get into the locked room and alas he could not
be found.The whole place was in
stitches laughing at the predicament!Again a hard day and we all slept well.

Day Four – Kinlochleven to Fort William – 14
miles (22.5kms)

Alas another wet morning as we were enjoying
breakfast but after three days of solid walking today was to be much shorter
with only a distance of 14 miles to undertake. We knew the route was to be
challenging with stunning mountain scenery around us.What we had not planned for was meeting some
900+ walkers and runners undertaking the annual Caledonian Challenge which
would of course slow us down.Intermittent
light rain continued to midday, when it did dry up and it was the first day we
were attacked by the dreaded midge, especially in wooded areas which accounted
for a good part of the way.

Midges have much worse allies in the form of flies
who continually buzz around your head when out in the hills.Horse flies, also known as clegs, are the
worst experience as their sting is ever so sore and often a few can bite at the
same time.They usually come out on hot
sunny days when you have a t-shirt and shorts on!! Insect repellent and a midge head net are
essential kit.

The path steadily rose and twisted into Lairig Mor,
a fascinating glen with high mountains on both sides.Once the military road was reached the
walking became much easier and this proved the busiest day with many walkers
ahead of us and coming behind us.The
bulk of Ben Nevis ahead to our right dominates as we enter Nevis Forest and a
long and controlled decent into Fort William.At 3pm we reached the end of the WHW with hand shakes all around and our
final photo opportunity.Our challenge
had been achieved.It was now away for a
few pints at The Grog and Gruel, Alehouse and Restaurant before checking into
our guesthouse accommodation at “Fassfern”.We spent a very enjoyable evening/night in the town celebrating our
success.

Sunday 17th June 2012

We were booked on the train from Fort William to
Queen Street, Glasgow and then a train from Central Glasgow to Milngavie, pick
up our car and head south.This four hour
train trip was a wonderful end to our adventure. This was “icing on the cake” – what grandeur
all around us as we made our way by Rannoch, Tyndrum, Arrochy, Dalmuir and into
Glasgow Queen Street.It was then a
short taxi ride to Central Station and onto Milngavie to pick up our car and
head home.

Our adventure was over but such special memories
will never be forgotten.

Keys to the success of the trip;

·Careful
planning and getting your daily distance capability to match where you want to
stay.Having had the experience of doing
the WHW, I dare say we would change some things.

·The
pack carrying services of Travel Light –seamless.

·Massive
thank you to Douglas and his team at Easyways.I would recommend their excellent services without hesitation.

·Other
Advice:

oGive
careful consideration to the kit you take – weather changes quickly on any day.

oHave
a good route map – Harveys WHW XT40.

oRead
a good guide book – Cicerone The WHW

oUse
a booking agent and kit carrier and enjoy this very special long distance way.You just do not want 15/20kg on your
back.If you do then take a few days
longer to complete the walk.

oConsider
very carefully how far you are to walk each day.For less experienced walkers do it over 6days
rather than 4days.If you are to carry
all your kit and camp then you will need to take more days.

May 2013

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TRAVEL LIGHT

WHW – 2days travelling, four days walking and
one night “out on the town” in Fort William

What do we need to take?

Kit bag for clothes
etc (20kilos) with light rucksack for walking

Sterling plus credit
cards.

Travel file and
accommodation addresses.

Mobile+ charger

Clothes

(what you take and the number of each item is
personal)

Shirts

T-shirts (wicking)

Pants

Shorts

Socks

Sun hat

Jacket

Trousers/jeans

Belt

Shoes and/or trainers

Toiletries

Razor & Foam

Tooth brush &
paste

Deodorant

Hair gel

Soap

Sun cream & after
sun

Insect repellant

Shampoo

Scissors

Nail file

Personal Medical
items as needed

Tissues/wet wipes

Savlon

Towel

Reading

Books

Magazines

Maps

Walk details

Pen and paper etc.

Addresses to send
post cards

Other Items

Sunglasses

Alarm Clock

Torch

Air freshener

Reading Glasses

Binoculars

Camera (Charged +
memory cards)

iPod/music

Midge
Net

Silk liner

Walking Gear

Boots or Trail Shoes
with good grip

Socks + liners

Trousers

Shorts

Fleece

Waterproof jacket
& trousers

Base Layer
tops/bottoms -wicking

Compass

Face towels.

Walking Poles

Rucksack/cover or
internal waterproof bag

Water Bottle

First Aid Kit

Head torch

Gloves

Warm Hat

Blister Compeeds

Other Medical Items
as needed

Zero tablets

Energy tablets

Route - bring details
(books/detailed route map)

Food/Water etc

Water

Wine

Supplies for first
couple of days walking(Nuts,
sardines, chocolate, dried fruit)

Weather

What is the
forecast?Know this to make sure
you have the right kit with you.

Homestay at Evans Bay New Zealand

Rachid Imerhane

Clashview Kinlochbervie

Inchardview

TREKKING ENCOUNTERS

FOR SUSTAINABLE ECO-TOURISM

Bayhead Self Catering, Isle of Harris

Delightful

http://www.documentdirect.co.uk

http://www.pacerpole.com

http://www.stridingahead.co.uk

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